Introduction

Abstract

A theoretical system cannot be stronger than its foundations. Althusser was the most recent Western Marxist who attempted to give clear and consistent answers to the basic questions of Marxist theory. He explored the scientific character of Marxist theory and tried to specify the meaning of ‘political economy’, ‘historical materialism’ and ‘dialectical materialism’. What is the relation between the laws of motion of capital first formulated by Marx in Capital and the study of history? What is the epistemological character of these laws? In the light of the answer to these questions, in what sense is Marxian political economy a science? Althusser did attempt to answer these questions and in doing so hoped to give Marxist theory a firm foundation. In the early 1970s Althusser’s paradigm was influential and perhaps even hegemonic amongst Western Marxists, but its inability to deal successfully with a number of basic problems eventually led to its demise. Since its decline, no alternative has sparked wide interest; indeed I am not even aware of any attempts since Althusser to deal with the foundations of Marxist theory in anything like his scope and thoroughness. This book is an effort to begin to fill this vacuum.